Leptospirosis
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Research from E.C. Romero and co-authors in the area of applied microbiology published
2009 MAY 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- "Leptospirosis is a public health problem worldwide. Traditionally, microscopic agglutination test (MAT) and cross-agglutinin absorption test (CAAT) are used to identify leptospires," researchers in Sao Paulo, Brazil report. "However, these techniques are laborious and time-consuming, requiring the maintenance of a collection of more than 200 reference strains and correspondent rabbit antisera. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) method for discrimination of Leptospira serovars. Fourteen clinical isolates of Leptospira spp. were analysed by MAT before being characterized by PFGE. The isolates were compared with a library of 206 different reference Leptospira serovars. All the isolates gave clear profiles with high resolution. PFGE and MAT results were in agreement for all clinical isolates evaluated. Twelve isolates were classified as serovar Icterohaemorrhagiae/Copenhageni by PFGE. By MAT, these isolates were classified as serogroup Icterohaemorrhagiae with titres ranging from 3200 to 25 600. Two isolates were classified as serovar Canicola by PFGE, and as serogroup Canicola by MAT with titres higher than 3200. PFGE offers the advantages of simple, reliable and reproducible results," wrote E.C. Romero and colleagues. The researchers concluded: "PFGE provides a convenient tool for the identification of clinical isolates." Romero and colleagues published their study in Letters in Applied Microbiology (Application of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis for the discrimination of leptospiral isolates in Brazil. Letters in Applied Microbiology, 2009;48(5):623-627). For additional information, contact E.C. Romero, Institute Adolfo Lutz Registro, Dept. of Med Biology, Av Dr. Arnaldo 35, BR-01246902 Sao Paulo, Brazil. Publisher contact information for the journal Letters in Applied Microbiology is: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc., Commerce Place, 350 Main St., Malden 02148, MA, USA. Keywords: Brazil, Sao Paulo, Life Sciences, Applied Microbiology, Public Health. This article was prepared by Science Letter editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2009, Science Letter via NewsRx.com.
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